At the moment the Yankees are a little more than halfway through their offseason. It has been 68 days since their ALDS Game Four loss and there are 58 days to go until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Hooray for being closer to Spring Training than the ALDS. Baseball is approaching.

The Yankees have been fairly busy this offseason, most notably adding James Paxton and re-signing several players (Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia). They also added some depth pieces through waiver claims and minor trades. Still on the offseason to-do list is find a Didi Gregorius replacement and also bolster the bullpen. That’s the short version. There are still other needs as well.

With the Winter Meetings over and the Yankees slightly more than halfway through their offseason, I figured this was as good a time as any to take a step back and examine the current state of the roster. The projected 25-man Opening Day roster, that is. Here’s what we know right now:

That is a sneaky number of OPEN spots! I count seven. Four in the bullpen, two on the bench, and one at either second base or shortstop. The Yankees of course have in-house options for those seven OPEN spots and, in some cases, the in-house options are preferable to spending on a back of the roster player(s). Why spend money on a utility infielder who is no lock to perform better than Wade or Albert or Locastro, you know?

There are 18 healthy players on the 40-man roster who are not part of my projected big league roster in that table. We can drop those 18 players into one of five buckets. Let’s do exactly that.

1. Going to the minors (4). I think we can safely assume Abreu, Acevedo, Higashioka, and Estrada are going to begin 2019 in the minors. Higashioka is the third catcher and both Abreu and Acevedo have development remaining. They’re not MLB ready. Estrada missed basically the entire 2018 season with various injuries and needs to catch up on lost at-bats. The Yankees have plenty of other infield options.

2. Out of options (6). Six of those 18 players can not be sent to the minors next year without passing through waivers: Alberto, Bridwell, Cessa, Cole, German, and Kahnle. Chances are a few of these guys will be gone before Spring Training begins — the Yankees still have to open a 40-man spot for Happ, for example — but they’re on the roster right now, so they get dropped in this bucket.

Being out of options does not guarantee a player an MLB roster spot but it can be a tiebreaker. If, for example, the final bench spot comes down to Alberto or Wade, it could go to Alberto because he can’t be sent down and Wade can. Give the Yankees a truth serum and I think they’d tell you they want German (long man/spot starter) and Kahnle (middle reliever) to shove in Spring Training and grab bullpen spots. But, if Bridwell or Cessa or Cole appear to be better options, then they’ll get the Opening Day bullpen assignments.

3. Other bullpen candidates (4). Adams, Harvey, Loaisiga, and Tarpley are bullpen candidates in addition to those out-of-options arms. Tarpley strikes me as most likely to win an Opening Day roster spot simply based on the fact he impressed enough in September to get an ALDS roster spot. Also, he and Chapman are the only lefty relievers on the 40-man roster, and Chapman’s the closer. He’s not going to be brought into a sixth inning matchup situation. Left-on-left relievers are largely disappearing from baseball, but Tarpley could crack the Opening Day roster.

Tarpley. (Getty)

My hunch is the Yankees want Loaisiga to go to Triple-A to begin next year. He impressed in his four-start cameo this summer (not so much in September) but the kid has never pitched in Triple-A and he has 196 career innings to his credit. I don’t think the Yankees would hesitate to carry Loaisiga in their bullpen next year if he’s one of their best options — he has a scary injury history and you might as well get whatever you can out of him before he gets hurt again — but, in a perfect world, they’d be able to send him to Triple-A for more tune-up work.

Adams and Harvey are straight up bullpen candidates. Surely the Yankees hope to have better options come Spring Training, but, if they don’t, Adams and especially Harvey could win bullpen jobs. Adams might be at a disadvantage given his ability to start. The Yankees could send him to Triple-A to remain stretched out as the sixth starter and go with someone else in the bullpen. Adams wouldn’t be the first guy to lose out on a big league bullpen gig because the team wants stash him in Triple-A as a starter.

4. Second base/shortstop options (2). Assuming Estrada is indeed ticketed for Triple-A, the top in-house second base/shortstop candidates aside from Alberto are Locastro and Wade. I expect the Yankees to add a middle infielder at some point between now and Spring Training, but, if they don’t, those are the internal options. Locastro and Wade (and Alberto). Seeing how Wade was the Opening Day second basemen this year, and Locastro is more of an outfielder who can play second base than the other way around, I think Wade would be the guy right now. If the season started today, Wade and Gleyber Torres would be the starting middle infielders. That’s what I think.

5. Other bench candidates (2). We’re down to two names: Bird and Frazier. Two former top prospects who have lost a lot of time to injuries in recent years. We know all about Bird’s problems. Last year’s oblique injury and this year’s concussion issues have limited Frazier to 745 plate appearances and 182 total games the last two years. That’s a real bummer. Had he been healthy this past season, Clint could’ve filled in for Judge in August and who knows, perhaps he plays well enough to win the 2019 left field job outright and convince the Yankees to move on from Gardner.

As for Bird, gosh, I don’t know what the Yankees will do with him. Voit has clearly jumped him on the first base depth chart, but the Yankees do love Bird, and would it really shock anyone if they carried him on the bench next year? I mean, they did this year, right? It’s one thing to do it in August and just buy time until rosters expand on September 1st. It’s another to do it on Opening Day. The Yankees are an eight-man bullpen/three-man bench team and using two of those three bench spots on a backup catcher and a backup first baseman seems … unwise.

The x-factor here is Ellsbury. He’s coming back from major hip surgery and Brian Cashman is already hedging against Ellsbury being ready for Opening Day, but, if he is ready, he might get a bench spot by default. I think it is far more likely the Yankees will release Ellsbury than carry him on the roster next year, but what do I know? If he’s healthy and Frazier needs Triple-A time after all the injuries, carrying Ellsbury as the reserve outfielder could very well be in the cards. As for Gray, the other guy in limbo, he’s a goner. He’ll be traded at some point.

* * *

To me, Locastro is the under-the-radar guy to watch. He can play almost anywhere, he’s a .307/.402/.443 (128 wRC+) hitter in 471 career Triple-A plate appearances, he’s a great runner (169-for-208 career stealing bases, an 81% success rate), and he doesn’t strike out much (career 11.5% strikeouts). I’m not saying I want Locastro on the Opening Day roster. I’m just saying he’s currently the odds on favorite to be this year’s “no one expected him to make the team but he did” guy.

Anyway, we had seven OPEN spots in our original table and this is how I think the Yankees would fill them if the season started today, which thankfully it does not.

Catcher

Infielders

Outfielders

Rotation

Bullpen

Gary Sanchez

1B Voit

LF Gardner

Happ

CL Chapman

2B Torres/Wade

CF Hicks

Paxton

SU Betances

SS Torres/Wade

RF Judge

Sabathia

SU Green

3B Andujar

OF Stanton

Severino

MR Holder

BENCH

Tanaka

MR Kahnle

C Romine

DISABLED LIST

MR Tarpley

IF Alberto

Ellsbury

Heller

LG Cessa

UTIL Locastro

Gregorius

Montgomery

LG German

That leaves the out-of-options Bridwell and Cole out in the cold — the Yankees really seems to like Cessa — Loaisiga and Frazier getting regular playing time in Triple-A, and Bird in Scranton. As much as the Yankees like (or liked, once upon a time) Bird, I think they’re at the point where they need to see health and production before giving him a roster spot. That Voit is around as a viable first base alternative makes this even more likely.

Would the Yankees play Wade at second base and Torres at shortstop, or the other way around? Either way works, really. I think I’d prefer Wade at short and Torres at second because second base is Gleyber’s likely long-term position and he still has only 132 career games worth of experience at the position. My preference, whether the Yankees go internal with Wade (nah) or bring in a middle infielder from outside the organization (yup), is to keep Torres at second base. I’d have no problem with him at short. Second would be my preference though.

Anyway, this is all a very long way of me saying the Yankees still have some unresolved roster spots, maybe more than anyone realized. The middle infield is unsettled, two bench spots are unclaimed, and there are four open bullpen spots. It’s easy to see why the Yankees want two relievers, right? Yes, they can fill some of those spots internally and I’m sure they will. Filling all of them internally seems like a non-option though. The good news is there’s lots of offseason remaining. The bad news is the Yankees still have a sneaky large amount of work to do this winter.

If he doesn’t use ABBA for his entrance music, our money back. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

While there are some other topics to cover, we’ve come to the end of the player portion of our 2018 Season Reviews. Therefore, we’ve covered all of the important players (and plenty of replacement level ones as well). That leaves the miscellaneous relievers that racked up innings as the last guys in the bullpen or received a spot start and little else. Let’s get to them!

Giovanny Gallegos

After debuting over 16 games in 2017, Gio Gallegos’s sophomore campaign was both brief and mostly irrelevant. He made four appearances for the Yankees, coming up as the eighth or ninth guy in the bullpen and the average leverage index was 0.23.

He would throw two innings in May and then came back up as an extra arm for the Phillies/Red Sox series in late June. The game against Philly was his best in New York as he tossed three shutout innings of relief, striking out six batters. He’d come up as the 26th man for the July 9 doubleheader in Baltimore and got a save with three innings of OK pitching.

On July 29, he was dealt along with Chasen Shreve for international money and Luke Voit, ending his Yankee tenure. He would throw two games for the Cardinals after helping their Triple-A team to the National title with a walk-off hit. Yes, you read that right: a base hit.

David Hale

David Hale signed with the Yankees three separate times in 2018 and made one appearance per signing. The Princeton University product tossed two scoreless innings in the April 23 blowout of the Twins and was subsequently designated for assignment. The Twins picked him up and he gave them one bad outing before yet another DFA.

His last two outings, May 11 and July 6, came in relief of Sonny Gray after Gray was shelled by the Athletics and Blue Jays, respectively. He saved his best for last up in Toronto when he gave the Bombers 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, keeping them in the game even if they would eventually lose.

A week after his last Yankee appearance, he signed with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles and made 12 starts with them to end the season.

Chance Adams

Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance? After J.A. Happ was stricken with hand, foot and mouth disease shortly after his New York debut, the team needed another starter. Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga were both hurt and Chance Adams was on turn, so the Arizona native got the call. His task? Face the eventual World Series champion Red Sox.

Adams held his own in Boston. He allowed a pair of homers and three runs over five innings, holding the Sox to just three hits and a walk. Considering his struggles in Triple-A, it was better than expected. However, he got just one run of support in a loss.

The 24-year-old made just two more relief appearances in the majors the rest of the year. He gave up four runs to the Marlins and threw a scoreless inning on the last day of the season, again in Boston.

He pitched to a 4.78 ERA while repeating Triple-A, taking plenty of shine off his prospect status. However, with both his age and previous success, there’s still something to hope for with Adams. He’s on the 40-man roster now and should get another chance, perhaps in relief.

Stephen Tarpley

We detailed Stephen Tarpley’s LOOGY status late in the season, so I’ll spare you most of the details. He struck out 13 over nine innings in the Bronx after receiving a September call-up and worked around some control issues to hold opponents to three runs. Not bad for one’s first taste of the majors.

Left-handed batters faced Tarpley 18 times and reached base just four times, three via walks. Eight struck out and none got extra bases. That’s pretty superb in an extremely small sample size.

After being groomed for a 25th-man/LOOGY role for the postseason, he was tagged for three runs in the Yankees’ 16-1 Game 3 loss to Boston. The team likely wanted him to take the final two innings but gave the ninth inning to Austin Romine instead.

Tarpley will now ride the shuttle between the Major Leagues and Scranton as a matchup lefty and long reliever. His two-seamer and sinker make him worth the 40-man roster spot and a longer look in the majors. I’m a big fan and think he could stick, though perhaps not in the Bronx.

See ya in Seattle (Mike Stobe/Getty)

Justus Sheffield

Justus no longer rules in the Bronx after just three appearances. His September debut came with a nine-run lead, yet he loaded the bases and narrowly escaped unscathed. Sheffield allowed an inherited runner to score in Tampa Bay a week later and was beat up by the Red Sox on the season’s final day.

The 22-year-old starter’s control issues made him unlikely to claim a Major League spot to begin 2019 and cast doubt on his future as a starter. Therefore, he was expendable as the headlining piece of the James Paxton trade, the Yankees’ first big move of the offseason. In Seattle, he’ll get a bigger ballpark and a longer leash to develop. Hope to see him back in the Bronx as an opponent soon!

George Kontos

Forget about George Kontos’ role for the 2018 Yankees? Me too. With the Yankees looking for a depth arm in early August, they purchased Kontos’ contract from the Indians. That brought Kontos’ career full circle after he was drafted by the Yankees and came up with them in late 2011 before being traded for Chris Stewart.

In his only game, he took over for an ineffective A.J. Cole and delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings during an 8-5 loss to the Mets. If the game had any historical significance, it was as one of Jacob deGrom’s 10 wins of the year. Other than that, just makes Kontos a good name for the end-of-the-year Sporcle quiz.

Ryan Bollinger and Domingo Acevedo

The phantom ballplayers! Ryan Bollinger and Domingo Acevedo didn’t actually pitch for the Yankees in 2018, but they both spent brief moments on the 25-man roster. The team gave them call-ups when they were short on arms and sent them down immediately afterwards.

It was particularly frustrating to see Bollinger not get a chance. The 27-year-old southpaw is a former 47th round pick and worked for years in the independent leagues to return to affiliated ball. He even pitched in Australia (and has gone back there this offseason). The Yankees gave him 20 starts in 2018, most of which came in Double-A Trenton’s employ. Ultimately, he was called up twice., but he ever got into a game. Hopefully next year is the year.

As for Acevedo, the 24-year-old received a similar fate. He was added to the 40-man roster before the season and was called up straight from Trenton in July. Perhaps he would have gotten a September cup of coffee, but injuries kept him away, plus the team had plenty of arms. He was fine in Double-A and unlike Bollinger, he’s still on the 40-man roster. His debut could be in the cards next season.

The Yankees and Red Sox close out their 2018 regular seasons with their three-game series finale later today. Every game across the league starts at 3pm ET today. There are some great postseason races in the National League. American League? Not so much. I’m looking forward to one last stress-free game. Here are some notes to check out prior to today’s season finale.

Yankees scouting Kikuchi

According to Jim Allen, the Yankees were among the teams with a scout(s) on hand to watch Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi during his most recent start. Kikuchi, 27, has a 3.08 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 163.2 innings for the Seibu Lions this season. He’s been among the best pitchers in Japan the last few years. The Lions are expected to post Kikuchi for MLB teams this offseason.

I wrote about Kikuchi and the Yankees back in April. His stuff is legit. He has a qualify fastball and a wide array of secondary pitches. The biggest concern with Kikuchi is a history of arm problems. That doesn’t automatically disqualify him as a possible offseason target. It’s just something that has to be considered. The Yankees have two starters in place for next season (Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka) and I’d bet the farm on CC Sabathia returning. Kikuchi could be a candidate to fill one of the other two rotation spots.

Acevedo removed from AzFL roster

Right-hander Domingo Acevedo has been removed from the Glendale Desert Dogs roster and will not pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year, the league announced. No reason was given but I assume it is injury related. Acevedo was placed on the disabled list with a biceps injury — his second biceps injury of 2018 — at the very end of the minor league season. Injuries limited him to 69.1 innings this season.

The Yankees had an open AzFL roster spot to fill — I have no idea whether that spot is a pitcher spot or position player spot — and now they have to fill Acevedo’s spot as well. I wonder if this opens the door for Jonathan Loaisiga to go to the AzFL to make up for the innings he lost to shoulder inflammation earlier this season. Loaisiga has thrown only 78.2 innings this year and he’s been sitting in the bullpen as a September call-up these last few weeks. The Yankees might not want to throw him to the wolves in the historically hitter friendly AzFL without being properly stretched out.

King among top Eastern League prospects

Baseball America (subs. req’d) continued their look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league earlier this week with the Double-A Eastern League. Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. predictably claims the top spot. He is the top prospect in baseball. Righty Mike King is the only Yankees prospect on the list. He ranks 18th. Here’s a snippet of the scouting report:

He’s lauded internally for the extraordinary amount of work he puts into every start, which has helped him game plan opposing hitters all year long … He starts by commanding a pair of average 89-93 mph fastballs to both sides of the plate and backs it up with a slider and changeup that can generate swings and misses … Because he’s jumped so quickly this year, scouts are understandably hesitant about his future role, with most seeing him as a possible No. 5 starter.

In the chat (subs. req’d), Josh Norris notes righty Erik Swanson showed well this year, though he didn’t throw enough innings with Double-A Trenton to qualify for the Eastern League top 20 list. “(Swanson) saw particular results because of the way his fastball carried through the zone. He also got better at commanding his entire arsenal and made progress with his changeup,” says the write-up. King is not yet Rule 5 Draft eligible. I’m curious to see whether Swanson gets added to the 40-man roster.

Judge has MLB’s highest selling jersey (again)

For the second straight season, Aaron Judge has the highest selling jersey in baseball. MLB and the MLBPA jointly announced their annual most popular player jerseys list earlier this week — that is based on sales at MLB.com’s online shop — and it is dominated by young players. Here’s the press release and here’s the top five:

Aaron Judge, Yankees

Jose Altuve, Astros

Javier Baez, Cubs

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

Mookie Betts, Red Sox

Giancarlo Stanton is ninth on the list, one spot behind Shohei Ohtani. I’d love to see the numbers on these jersey sales. Anecdotally, it seems to me there are more Judge jerseys and shirts in the stands these days than any other player since Derek Jeter retired. Jeter always dominated the jersey and shirt scene. Feels like Judge is right up there with him now.

Bad news on the final day of the minor league regular season: RHP Domingo Acevedo has been placed on the Double-A disabled list, the team announced. He has another biceps injury. Acevedo missed time with a blister and biceps trouble earlier this year. Injuries limited him to 69.1 innings this season. Sucks.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (5-1 win over Pawtucket) they went 73-65 and clinched the wild card spot yesterday … they’ll play Lehigh Valley (Phillies) in the first round of the postseason … their best-of-five series begins Wednesday

DH Mark Payton: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K — finishes the season at .259/.368/.401 with six homers in 62 games

The 2019 Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this afternoon and the Yankees are sending seven players to the desert this year: RHP Domingo Acevedo, IF Thairo Estrada, OF Estevan Florial, RHP Jordan Foley, RHP Hobie Harris, IF Steven Sensley, and RHP Matt Wivinis. One or two players may still be added to the roster, as is the case every year.

Florial, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, is the headliner here. He missed roughly two months with wrist surgery earlier this season and is hitting .278/.377/.415 (129 wRC+) with six home runs in 80 games this season, mostly with High-A Tampa. Florial hit .286/.383/.414 in 19 AzFL games last year and is returning this year to make up the at-bats he lost due to injury.

Various injuries have limited Estrada to only 18 games this season and I’m glad to see he’s healthy and going to the AzFL. Been a tough year for him. Estrada was shot in the hip during a robbery in January, then missed time with groin, back, and wrist problems during the regular season. Last year Estrada hit a strong .342/.381/.430 in 20 AzFL Games.

Acevedo, like Florial, is going to the AzFL to make up for lost time. A blister and a biceps injury have limited him to 69.1 innings this season, most with Double-A Trenton, during which he’s pitched to a 2.99 ERA (3.22 FIP with 20.0% strikeouts and 6.1% walks. Acevedo pitched in the AzFL back in 2015. The fact he’s going this year suggests he will not be a September call-up. Rarely do guys do both.

Interestingly enough, Sensley is listed on the roster as an infielder, indicating his move to first base was not a short-term thing. He was drafted as an outfielder last year before moving to first base with High-A Tampa this year. Sensley is hitting .246/.330/.445 (121 wRC+) with 16 home runs in 107 games split between Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa.

Foley, Harris, and Wivinis are are fringe prospect depth relievers. Foley has a 3.18 ERA (4.22 FIP) with 23.0% strikeouts in 62.1 innings this year, all in Trenton. Harris has a 2.53 ERA (4.03 FIP) in 46.1 innings between Tampa and Trenton. Wivinis has a 2.56 ERA (2.86 ERA) and 34.4% strikeouts in 52.2 innings at three levels this season. These guys are roster fillers more than legit prospects getting a longer look.

Yankees prospects will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the AzFL this year. They’ll be on a team with Dodgers, Indians, Orioles, and White Sox prospects. The 30-game AzFL schedule begins Tuesday, October 9th, and runs through Thursday, November 15th. The Championship Game will be played Saturday, November 17th.

In one week and two days all 30 MLB teams will be able to expand their active roster from 25 players to 40 players. Most teams wind up carrying 30-35 players in September. September call-ups have become somewhat controversial but I am 100% for them. I explained why a few years ago. It seems likely the rules will change at some point in the future. Right now, the rules are what they are, and teams can have 40 active players on their roster as of next Saturday.

In recent years the Yankees have been a very aggressive September call-up team. They tend to call up lots of players and they call them up early. Some teams only add a third catcher and an extra reliever on September 1st. Not the Yankees. They go all out. Last year they called up five players on September 1st. The year before it was seven players on September 1st. The year before that? Eight players on September 1st. I expect lots of September 1st call-ups again.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a moment to sort through the team’s September call-up options and figure out where each player fits, if at all. Some call-ups are kept around for emergencies only. Spare long relievers and a third catcher, guys like that. Others are brought up for a specific reason or to fill a specific role. Let’s get to it.

Injured Players

Might as well start here. The Yankees have lots of players on the disabled list right now and sometimes, rather conveniently, players will get healthy on September 1st. That happened with Matt Holliday last year. He was on the disabled list with a back issue and was activated on the first day rosters expanded. Funny how that works.

Aaron Judge (wrist) and Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) are both making progress but it seems very unlikely either will be ready to return next Saturday. Gary Sanchez, however, will begin a minor league rehab assignment either today or tomorrow. He’s going to play a few games in the rookie Gulf Coast League before joining Triple-A Scranton for what Aaron Boone called a “week’s worth of games.” Sure seems like Gary will return on September 1st.

Didi Gregorius is eligible to be activated next Thursday and it’s unclear right now whether he’ll be ready to be activated that day. The Yankees said they have to see how his heel responds the next few days before knowing when he’ll return. If Gregorius is ready to go Thursday, would the Yankees give him the proverbial two extra days and wait until Saturday to activate him? I don’t think so, but you never know. It would be quite easy to give Didi those two extra days to make sure he’s 100% ready to go.

Aroldis Chapman landed on the disabled list yesterday and he isn’t even eligible to be activated until next Saturday, so even if he comes back after the minimum ten days, he’ll return with expanded rosters. That makes life easy. Whenever Chapman is healthy, the Yankees will activate him and add him to the roster. They won’t have to send someone else down to accommodate him.

The Up & Down Guys

Okay, let’s get to the minor leaguers. Generally speaking, the first wave of September call-ups — those are the September 1st guys — are players who have been going up and down all year. Many of them are already in the big leagues because of the injuries though. Tommy Kahnle, Ronald Torreyes, Luke Voit … they’re with the Yankees now. If I’d written this post a week ago, those three would’ve been identified as September 1st call-ups.

There are two up-and-down guys in Triple-A right now: Tyler Wade and Luis Cessa. I expect both to come up on September 1st. Wade to give the Yankees another bench player (a four-man bench? madness!) and Cessa to be another long man and occasional spot starter. The only thing with Cessa is that he might come up as the 26th man for Saturday’s doubleheader game in Baltimore. If he does, he has to go back down after the game, then he’ll have to wait ten days to be called back up. The ten-day rules means Cessa won’t be eligible to be called back up until September 4th. Point is, as soon as he’s eligible, I think Cessa comes up.

40-Man Guys Who Might Have To Wait

At the moment the Yankees have five healthy players on the 40-man roster and in the minors: Cessa, Wade, Albert Abreu, Ryan Bollinger, and Chris Rabago. I am fairly certain Chance Adams will be sent down tomorrow when CC Sabathia is activated — Adams threw 46 ineffective pitches last night and I don’t see the Yankees keeping him around when Sabathia returns — so it’s really six healthy players on the 40-man and in the minors.

Abreu is a Single-A pitcher who’s thrown 62.2 innings around injuries this year. There is no reason to call him up in September only to have him sit in the bullpen as the 38th or 39th or 40th guy on the roster. Abreu needs to pitch. He needs to spend September in Instructional League in Tampa. That’s the best thing for his development. Rabago was claimed on waivers yesterday and is a light-hitting Double-A catcher. He’s not a call-up candidate. He’s a guy who gets dropped from the 40-man roster when a spot is needed.

Bollinger has had two one-day stints with the Yankees as an emergency arm this year and I don’t think he’s getting a September call-up. He is much more likely to be dropped from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for someone else. Bollinger is not even in Triple-A. He’s a 27-year-old journeyman with a 4.03 ERA (3.42 FIP) in 91.2 Double-A innings. Those two call-ups were “we need a warm body” call-ups, not “we like this guy” call-ups. Sorry, Ryan.

Adams. (Presswire)

As for Adams, assuming he is sent down for Sabathia, he will be back in September for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees leave him in Triple-A until Scranton’s season is over though. They might not make the postseason, so it might be over soon, but if they do make the postseason, Adams could be part of the rotation. Remember, when the Yankees called Adams up for that spot start a few weeks ago, it was only because Cessa was unavailable. Letting Adams pitch in Triple-A through the end of their season seems like the way to go.

The Yankees have three injured minor league pitchers on the 40-man roster right now: Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, and Jonathan Loaisiga. All three recently started pitching in rehab games but might not be ready to come up on September 1st. I think German comes up right away, as soon as he’s deemed fit for MLB. Acevedo and Loaisiga need innings and I expect both to stay with Double-A Trenton through the postseason. (Trenton is definitely going to the postseason.) German comes up as soon as he’s healthy. Acevedo and Loaisiga are probably going to have to wait.

Non-40-Man Roster Players

The shift to the bullpen earlier this week all but confirmed Justus Sheffield will be called up in September. The Yankees say they are going to give him 3-4 relief appearances in Triple-A — that suggests he could be a September 1st call-up — to prepare him for bullpen work in the big leagues. A September call-up has felt inevitable for weeks now. Now we know it’ll happen, and we know Sheffield will work out of the bullpen.

“We’re starting to transition him to the bullpen so that hopefully he can get a couple of outings under his belt down there, and then play a part with us in our ‘pen down the stretch,” said Boone after the Sheffield move was announced. “We think there’s some great value he could bring.”

Sheffield is getting called up in September. Stephen Tarpley might as well. Brian Cashman mentioned the southpaw by name last week when discussing call-up candidates. Tarpley has been excellent this year — his 71.0% ground ball rate leads affiliated baseball — and he’ll almost certainly be added to the 40-man roster after the season to avoid Rule 5 Draft exposure. I think he’ll get added to the 40-man in September and called up. Will he pitch? Probably in mop-up duty only, and that’s fine. Countless relievers broke in as September mop-up guys.

There are three other non-40-man players who I think I have a chance to be called up in September: George Kontos, Erik Swanson, and Gio Urshela. I don’t see guys like Mike Ford or Ryan McBroom or Abi Avelino getting called up. Avelino is the only real prospect of the bunch and he’s a fringe guy who might not get a 40-man spot after the season. Injuries could always force a call-up. I just don’t see the Yankees creating 40-man space to call those guys up though.

My hunch is George Kontos will be a September 1st call-up guy. I thought it was pretty weird a guy with his track record and service time accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A when he was designated for assignment last week. Usually a guy in his spot elects free agency and finds a team with a better shot at MLB playing time. Seems like their might’ve been an “accept the outright, go to Triple-A for two weeks, and we’ll call you up on September 1st” conversation at some point.

Urshela. (Jason Farmer/Scranton Times Tribune)

Urshela is an interesting case. The Yankees got him in a cash trade earlier this month and he’s played well with Triple-A Scranton, hitting .310/.333/.483 in 16 games. He’s a fantastic gloveman who would be a great defensive replacement for Miguel Andujar. How many infielders do the Yankees want to carry though? They’ll already have Wade and Ronald Torreyes on the September bench, plus Neil Walker could always play the infield as well. The x-factor here might be whether the Yankees want to keep Urshela for next year. Add him to the 40-man, play him in September, keep him over the winter, then bring him to camp next year? Hmmm.

Swanson? I think he’ll fall victim to the numbers crunch. Cashman did mention him by name along with Tarpley last week, but Swanson has already thrown a career high 109.1 innings this year, and the Yankees are already set to carry several spare September long men (Cessa, German, eventually Loaisiga). Do they need another one? Do they want to clear a 40-man spot to carry another one? I don’t think so. Either way, Swanson figures to stay in Triple-A through the postseason before being called up, if he is called up at all.

As for 40-man space, the Yankees are full after claiming Rabago yesterday. Both he and Bollinger can easily be dropped to open space though. Is Clint Frazier a 60-day DL candidate at this point? The Yankees could call up the injured Thairo Estrada and put him on the 60-day DL to clear another spot. That means giving Thairo a month of big league pay and service time, but that’s not a huge deal. They’ve done it before. Looks to me the Yankees have three easily available 40-man spots (Sheffield, Tarpley, Kontos?), and possibly a fourth if Frazier is indeed a 60-day DL guy.

What About A Designated Pinch-Runner?

Contending teams will often call up a crazy fast guy specifically to pinch-run and sometimes that guy winds up on the postseason roster too. Two years ago the Yankees made a minor trade for Eric Young Jr. to be their designated pinch-runner. Remember Rico Noel in 2015? Heck, Freddy Guzman was on the 2009 postseason roster as the pinch-runner. He pinch-ran twice in the team’s 15 postseason games.

Last year the Yankees did not acquire a designated pinch-runner. Why? Because they had Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench, and also Wade, who is fast as hell. Shane Robinson can also run. I don’t think the Yankees will trade for a Young or Noel or Guzman type this year, even with Ellsbury injured. I think they’ll use Wade as their primary pinch-runner with Robinson the secondary option. Never say never. Trading for a dude to pinch-run just seems so unlikely this year.

What About The Luxury Tax?

September call-ups of course count against the luxury tax payroll. Every player on the active roster or big league disabled list counts. Based on my last estimate, the Yankees have about $3.3M in wiggle room under the $197M luxury tax threshold. That number is probably closer to $2.8M or $2.9M now because the Yankees have had to call up injury replacements the last few weeks, but still, that’s plenty.

Just consider the “worst” case September call-up scenario. Say the Yankees call up the maximum 15 players on September 1st and they’re all making $600,000 at the MLB level. That is $3,225.81 per day per player. Call it $3,300 to make the math easy. Fifteen players times 30 days in September (the season ends September 30th) times $3,300 per day equals $1.485M added to the luxury tax payroll. That fits within the team’s available payroll, and remember, this is a very conservative example. Fifteen players making $600,000? Not happening. The luxury tax won’t be an issue for September call-ups.

* * *

Now that I think about it, I don’t expect Acevedo to get a September call-up. He did spend one day in the big leagues earlier this year, but that was an emergency situation. Injuries have limited Acevedo 63.2 innings this season — he threw a career high 133 innings last year — and the Yankees may rather send him to Instructional League so he can actually pitch. Acevedo would be what, the 15th option out of the bullpen in September? Yeah, I think he gets a call-up.

Okay, so based on all that, here are the call-ups I expect to happen in September:

September 1st: Cessa (September 4th?), Kontos, Sheffield, Wade

Called up/activated once healthy: Chapman, German, Gregorius, Sanchez

Called up after minor league seasons ends: Adams, Loaisiga, Tarpley

Not including the injured big leaguers, that is eight players added to the roster in September. Judge and hopefully Frazier will be activated at some point as well. So that’s eight minor league call-ups (Adams, Cessa, German, Kontos, Loaisiga, Sheffield, Tarpley, Wade) and five injury activations (Chapman, Frazier, Gregorius, Judge, Sanchez), giving the team 13 additional players in September and a 38-man roster.

Urshela is the wildcard here, moreso than Swanson. I don’t expect the Yankees to open up a 40-man spot to carry yet another pitcher in September. (Another pitcher who doesn’t figure to pitch much.) Urshela would be a high-end defensive caddy for Andujar and another warm body for mass substitutions in blowouts. The Yankees will need 40-man spots for Kontos, Sheffield, and Tarpley. If they open another one, I think it goes to Urshela. Another pitcher is overkill, even in September.

RHP Domingo Acevedo was placed on the Double-A disabled list with a biceps injury, the team announced. Acevedo told Sean Miller he’s going for an MRI tomorrow. “During the week I felt excellent, and then this came out of nowhere. Most of the time you feel a little something in your arm, but this time it was getting worse, and I did not want to make it worse,” Acevedo said.

DH Mike Ford: 0-2 — also ejected for arguing balls and strikes … not a good day for the home plate umpire

SS Abi Avelino: 1-4, 2 K

LHP Nestor Cortes: 7 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR, 5/10 GB/FB — 66 of 95 pitches were strikes (69%) … had to wear this one because the bullpen is short due to recent workloads and all the trades